Rashakai Special Economic Zone to be inaugurated in first quarter of 2019

BEIJING: Rashakai, one of the nine Special Economic Zones (SEZ) prioritised under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework is likely to start commercial operation during the first quarter of this year.

The two sides are negotiating details on the implementation of the Rashakai Special
Economic Zone, which will be inaugurated as early as the first quarter of 2019, official sources revealed here on Sunday.

During the 8th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting held in Beijing last month,
China’s National Development Reforms Commission (NDRC) and Pakistan’s Board of
Investment (BOI) signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on industrial cooperation, which will facilitate the cooperation in this regard.

In November 2015, Pakistan proposed to set up an industrial cooperation working
group under JCC, claiming that Pakistan has advantages such as adequate labour force and huge market potential to develop manufacturing.

In March and April 2016, Pakistan sent two delegations to China to study China’s best practice in SEZ development. In November 2016, the two sides established the joint working group and held its first meeting on industrial cooperation, during which the two sides agreed to work out the mechanism, key areas of cooperation and key projects.

Later on, in the 6th JCC meeting in the same month, Pakistan submitted a list of
nine SEZs to China.

From 2017 to 2018, China’s expert panel had three successive on-site visits to the nine
proposed SEZs, in a bid to make a comprehensive analysis and proposals pertaining to industrial development in Pakistan.

In early 2018, the Pakistani government had instructed BOI to formulate accurately-
targeted and favorable policies on top of current preferential policies for two to three SEZs that were to be listed as key projects under CPEC.

Under the CPEC, so far nine SEZs have been identified to be established in different
areas of Pakistan. One each in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and Islamabad, two in Sindh and one each in FATA, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.